Ripping your DVD movies to a format that is compatible with Windows Media Player (WMP) can be a great way to organize your movie collection. Newer DVDs come with digital media files that are compatible with WMP already, but there are still plenty of movies that require you to perform the conversion yourself. With the right tools, the process of converting your DVD movies into a format that is compatible with the WMP library function can be easy.
Step 1
Download and install the software that will convert the DVD video format into the Windows Media format. Common options include DVDFab, Handbrake and CloneDVD Mobile (see links in the Resource section).
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Step 2
Insert the DVD movie you want to rip into your computer's optical drive.
Step 3
Launch the conversation software you just installed and select the DVD that you inserted into your computer.
Step 4
Using the preset drop-down box, select the Windows Media preset. Different presets give different trade-offs between size and quality. Decide whether you want better quality with a larger file size, or less quality with a smaller file size. If you are given the option between version 9 or version 10 of the Windows Media format, use version 10 only if your WMP is version 10 or above. Use version 9 for older copies of Windows Media Player.
Step 5
Click the "Rip" or "Convert" button, and the program will begin converting the DVD video format into a .WMV file that Windows Media Player can play. This process could take a few hours.
Step 6
Load the resulting video file into Windows Media Player. Click the "Library" button to see a list of folders which you can use to organize your media. Drag the video from the playlist to the appropriate folder in your media library.
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